I know, I know....

Yes, it's been a while siince i have posted and I'm sorry it's been so long!! The last few days have been long and wearying and getting to internet has been tough. I know Meredith has been keeping much better update than I have (she is ALWAYS looking for internet wherever we are) so if you're just interested in what we've been doing she'd be good to keep up with or just our group journal too.

So with disclaimer over with, now I can catch you up on the past few days.

July 4th: An awesome, short (thank God) 58-mile ride into Garden City. We cruised on this ride, everyone did really, pacelining it all the way and averaging over 20 mph in windy conditions. I rolled with a great line and it felt so good t really move with a group and stay altogether. That hasn't been the case much for my rides lately so it was nice to have that for the Fourth! We woke up late, arrived before noon, stayed in a beautiful, brand new facility at the Garden Valley Church and had so much free time to get things done! It was great. I cleaned my bike and chain and changed my tires (the most frustrating part of the day for sure--it took three hours, two pinched tubes, and the efforts of many to get my new Armadillo tires on my wheel rims). I did get to see some fireworks, though they were in the distance and I only got the tail-end of the show.

July 5th: Our first century!!!! HOO-RAY!!! We hit 101+ miles on the ride over the Colorado border into Lamar, CO. I couldn't believe that we made it! I rode with Anita for a lot of the way--she totally pushed me and we kept each other entertained. A hundred miles!! How awesome!! We did it fast (in only 8 hours) including all of our stops and a 45 minute sojourn at the border. (Colorado, by the way, has the best state sign yet, though the road into Lamar was AWFUL. Exceptionally bumpy and uneven. ick.) Speaking of awful and pain, i guess, here's an update for my wrist: it still kind of hurts :( I've been riding on it without my brace just for functionality of my fingers and getting to my brakes and gears.

July 6: 55-miles, so relatively short, but this day was probably the worst ride that I've had of the entire trip from North Carolina. Seriosuly. Awful. It was breezy, I couldn't keep up with anyone. I was just exhausted from the day before and couldn't go anywhere. I had two flat tires on my new tires (which was beyond frustrating, especially when they're not supposed to go flat at all.) I was out of tubes and my patches were leaking...Chris Clark came to my rescue and gave me one of his tubes, but my pump was malfunctioning too, I was horribly uncomfortable on my seat and it was hot as blazes outside. Awful, awful, awful. The only thing that made me finally feel better once I made it to the City Park in La Junta was a chocolate milkshake from Sonic with Jen. A quick side note on Sonic: they are more prevalent in this country, in all of these small towns we've been riding through, than McDonald's. Seriously, i am not kidding. More Sonic's than McDonald's. Crazy. The evening got much better for sure-- i was able to rewrap my handlebars which made me happy. Anita arrived in Nags Head with her handlebar tape braided wiith two colors. I've been horribly jealous since day one and finally had the time and energy to sit down and figure out how to do it. And I did!! My handlebars look amazing now-- breaided with white and neon yellow. They're hot. Riding yesterday I would just look down at my handlebars and grin. So fun.

July 7th: 7-7-07!! It was a REALLY big day. We had two birthdays today: Lee Anne and Vandy! and the highest mileage day of the trip (probably). One hundred and eighteen miles. 1-1-8. 118. Seriously. That's about the distance from Atlanta to Chattanooga, TN (maybe a little bit farther). 118 miles. I still can't get my head around it. Unbelievable ride though. So many highs and lows through the whole thing. We started the day in an awesome paceline and hung together through the 70 mile mark feeling great. After that though, we hit this AWFUL road, a sand/packed gravel road that lasted for 15+ miles. Ick. It was a nightmare. SO slow going, scary, painful and bumpy. It was absolutely terrible. You would hit patches of sand that looked packed and then slide all over the place. People fell. The horseflies were on a rampage. Terrible. Once we reached the ends, I noticed my front wheel looked a bit untrue.. turns out, one of spokes had come loose (I could hear it rattling on downhills) and then popped completely when I was checking it a little later, all from that horrible road!! Fun things though: in Fountain, a Colorado Springs suburb, there was a hot rod and classic car rally throguh the middle of town. I was in hog heaven :) So at mile 96, Lindsay, Ivey, and i waited for the van so i could get a new front wheel so I could finish the ride and get others to the shuttle from there. We could have stopped at 96 (an admirable ride for sure) or continued through Colorado Springs from the south side of hte city to the far north side to the church where we are staying. It was those last 22 miles that about did me in. After sitting for almost an hour waiting for a wheel then taking off in the hotter sun around 2ish was not good. Lindsay and I rolled out on htat way feeling good, but I must say for me, that was entirely too short-lived. I saw my life flash before my eyes a number of times over all the potholes, cracks in the road, cars whizzing by, and all the stop-and-go at lights over uphills. Nightmare. I was dead. Lindsay completely saved me and was so encouraging through the whole thing. iw as so ready to quit but I kept thinking about how great it would be to finish 118 miles-- probably more than I would ever ride again (maybe). unreal. I couldn't move once we made it to the church. To be so completely exhausted and having given it your all; I guess that's really what this trip is all about. Pushing yourself to your limits and surprising yourself every time.

We went out to dinner last night for the birthday duo-- everyone was exhausted still so it was fairly low key for most. Sleep came easily, thank goodness.

So that's where I am now. In Colorado Springs at this unbelievable church on the North side of town. Off for the day now.

ciao ciao,
CVH